1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a plasma display apparatus and, more particularly, to a plasma display apparatus in which heat generated by a panel and other devices is effectively dissipated, electromagnetic interference (EMI) is shielded, and noise is absorbed.
2. Related Art
A plasma display apparatus is a flat panel display that displays images using light emitted from fluorescent materials, which are excited by ultraviolet rays generated from a discharge gas filled in a discharge space when a predetermined voltage is applied across electrodes formed on substrates facing each other. The plasma display apparatus can be formed to a thickness of a few centimeters, and can have a large-sized screen and a viewing angle of more than 150°. Therefore, plasma display apparatuses are expected to be the next generation of display units.
The manufacturing of plasma display apparatuses is completed by coupling a front panel and a rear panel which are separately produced, assembling a chassis base on a backside of the rear panel, mounting a circuit board on the chassis base, and mounting the resultant product in a case.
In the above mentioned plasma display apparatus, the panel operates because the circuit board is electrically connected to the panel by a tape carrier package (TCP), a chip on film (COF), or a chip on board (COB).
A TCP is formed by mounting a device on a tape, and a COF is formed by mounting II a device on a film enclosing a flexible printed cable. The TCP and COF are widely used since the TCP and COF can reduce the size of the circuit board by mounting multiple devices on a tape and a film, respectively, and since they have flexibility.
However, in the above mentioned TCP, COF and COB, a lot of heat and electromagnetic interference (EMI) are generated. The heat and EMI are leaked to the outside from the devices mounted on the TCP, COF or COB during the operation of the panel. The heat can cause problems when displaying images on the panel by causing malfunctions in the devices mounted on the TCP, COF or COB, and the EMI can cause unstable signal processing by affecting the circuit board. Therefore, means for dissipating heat and for shielding EMI produced by the TCP, COF or COB are required.
The plasma display apparatus generates heat during operation, and the heat can reduce the display performance of the panel. Moreover, the reliability of the circuit board can be reduced after long hours of operation due to the heat. Also, the substrates that constitute the panel can be damaged by thermal stress. Some examples of problems relating to heat in plasma display apparatuses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,374, U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,566, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,618.